A Texas zoo delivered a critically endangered baby gorilla via an emergency cesarian section, the first time in the zoo’s history.
Baby Jameela, a western lowland gorilla, was delivered by a team of medical experts on 5 January at the Fort Worth Zoo, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Jameela’s mother, a 33-year-old gorilla named Sekani, was supposed to give birth naturally in early to mid February. But Sekani quickly developed symptoms of pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication seen in humans and primates that causes high blood pressure.
Fearing for Sekani and her baby’s health, the zoo’s veterinary team decided that Sekani would have to deliver her baby early via C-section.
“Following testing that supported this diagnosis, we determined that intervention was necessary to save Sekani and to give her unborn baby the best chance for survival,” said John Griffioen, the zoo’s assistant director of animal programs and conservation, during a press conference, the Star-Telegram reported.
Zookeepers at Fort Worth quickly sought help from human gynecology experts, as the reproductive systems of primates and humans are nearly identical.
Dr Jamie Walker Erwin, a Fort Worth-based obstetrician and gynecologist, was tapped to help with Sekani’s birth. Erwin has previously worked as an OB-GYN consultant for the zoo, helping with a range of concerns related to the reproductive health of primates.
Erwin helped bring together a team to deliver baby Jameela, including an anesthesiologist and a neonatologist, the Star-Telegram reported. Both mother and daughter were in good health, despite the complicated procedure.
Erwin told the Guardian that aiding with the delivery was “amazing” and a “highlight” of her career.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Erwin said.
“I usually operate on people,” she added, with a laugh.
Since the procedure, zoo keepers have been providing care to Jameela as Sekani recovers from surgery.
Unfortunately, Sekani has not shown interest in being reunited with baby Jameela. But Fort Worth zoo keepers said they are in the process of training another female gorilla, a 24-year-old named Gracie, to act as Jameela’s surrogate mother, WFAA reported.
“Zookeepers are hopeful Gracie will be an ideal surrogate mother, exhibiting maternal behaviors that will be necessary for the baby to thrive: holding and carrying of the infant, protection, cooperation with zookeepers during feeding time, and teaching the little one necessary social skills she needs to be a gorilla,” a Fort Worth zoo spokesperson said in a press release.
Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered because of hunting and disease among the species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, CBS News reported.
